Park Min-sik, Director of the Veterans Affairs, "The 'Founding President' Rhee Syngman Must Be Properly Evaluated"

Director Park Min-sik of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs stated on the 26th, "No one can deny that the freedom and prosperity we currently enjoy were built upon the foundation established by former President Syngman Rhee," adding, "It is now time to properly evaluate President Rhee."

On the afternoon of the 26th, Park Min-sik, the Commissioner of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, delivered a congratulatory speech at the 148th anniversary ceremony of former President Syngman Rhee's birth held at Ewha Jang in Jongno-gu, Seoul. 2023.3.26 [Photo by Yonhap News]

In the afternoon of the same day, Director Park delivered a commemorative speech at the '148th Anniversary of Syngman Rhee's Birth' ceremony held at Ewha Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul, organized by the Syngman Rhee Founding President Memorial Association. He said, "Although there are faults in the former president, considering his immense achievements and comparing today's North Korea and South Korea, the path chosen by the 'Founding President' Syngman Rhee was the right one."

Director Park asserted, "The historical fact that he laid the cornerstone of the Republic of Korea alone is not 'Gongchil Gwaseom' (7 merits and 3 faults) but rather 'Gongpal Gwaui' (8 merits and 2 faults) is still insufficient," and added, "Nevertheless, President Rhee was branded as a historical villain and suffered in obscurity for a long time." He continued, "Regardless of political camps, it is now time for descendants to honestly and calmly reexamine the achievements of the founding president Syngman Rhee," emphasizing, "That is the minimum courtesy and duty toward the founding president and essential to establishing the identity of the Republic of Korea."

The ceremony was attended by Director Park, Hwang Kyo-ahn, chairman of the Syngman Rhee Founding President Memorial Association, and over 150 people including families of independence patriots.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.